Three-week closure of SR 99

Realign99: The three-week closure of SR 99

The longest major highway closure the Puget Sound Region has ever seen is now upon us. State Route 99 will remain closed from South Spokane Street to the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel until the new SR 99 tunnel opens in early February.

Map of SR 99 closure through downtown Seattle

WSDOT has closed SR 99 through downtown Seattle for approximately three weeks to realign the highway into the tunnel. During this closure both the viaduct and the tunnel are closed. This disruption is unavoidable due to the large amount of work involved in realigning SR 99 with the new tunnel. Additional ramp closures mean up to six weeks of traffic disruption.

#REALIGN99 PLANNING TOOLS

We need everyone's help during the closure to avoid gridlock. Commuters and employers should think about how you can change commute patterns:

Shift your travel time to avoid the busiest times on the roadway.

Bike or walk to work or school.

Start or join a carpool, vanpool or vanshare.

Start a telecommute program for employees.

Use transit, particularly light rail and King County Water Taxi.

Stay off the road: work from home, postpone discretionary trips, take time off.

What: Approximately three-week-long closure of SR 99, from the Battery Street Tunnel to South Spokane Street.

When: Begins 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.

Why: To complete the highway and eight ramps connecting the new tunnel to SR 99 and local streets. This WSDOT blog post explains the work that has to happen to open the tunnel to drivers.

Ramps near stadiums close early and open late
The northbound SR 99 on-ramp at South Royal Brougham Way and the southbound SR 99 off-ramp at South Atlantic Street closed a week earlier, at 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 4.

Closing these ramps allowed crews to get started on the large amount of work required at the tunnel’s south end near the stadiums. The new northbound off-ramp to downtown just south of the tunnel will take up to two additional weeks to complete and open after the rest of the closure ends.

After the closure ends
When the closure ends, the tunnel will open and SR 99 drivers will have a direct route from the stadiums to the Space Needle. The viaduct and Battery Street Tunnel will both be permanently closed in preparation for the start of viaduct removal.

We recognize that this closure brings significant disruption to local and regional traffic patterns. WSDOT and its partner agencies are implementing a variety of measures to keep people moving, and ask commuters and employers to plan ahead and adjust commute habits where possible.